


On the Precipice of Defeat

by UnderTheMeltyWay



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Action, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Betaed, Bleach - Freeform, Bleach References, Chat Blanc - Freeform, Duelling, F/M, Friendship, Hollow - Freeform, Hollowfication, Hollows (Bleach), Mild Gore, Minor Character Death, My First Work in This Fandom, Princess Justice - Freeform, Protective Plagg (Miraculous Ladybug), Protective Tikki (Miraculous Ladybug)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:33:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27278047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnderTheMeltyWay/pseuds/UnderTheMeltyWay
Summary: Tikki looked at her holder sympathetically. The price was steep for a human to wield a Miraculous. Despite the good intentions, the artifact would rot away the Chain of Fate with every use.BleachAU - Hollowfication
Comments: 4
Kudos: 20





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I want to give a shout out to Kato GS123 for posting this prompt on [Miraculous Fanworks Discord](https://discord.gg/mlfanworks) as well as Book_Squirrel, Khanofallorcs and Shadowknight763 for being my betas and helping me refine this story. I am very grateful.
> 
> Cheers!
> 
>   * **Chain of Fate** : a spiritual chain that links a soul to its body. 
>   * **Hollow(s):** Born from human souls that have lost their Chain of Fate either by committing horrible acts during life or having it rot away while remaining on earth for whatever reason as a spirit. 
>   * **Hollowfication:** The phenomenon when a soul transforms into a Hollow after the Chain of Fate completely rots away.
>   * **Spiritual Energy:** Willpower, varies from person to person. If the person is advanced in the technique, they could create weapons or objects by harnessing it. It is known as Reiatsu and Reiyoku respectively in the anime.
> 


“Chat Noir!” Ladybug yelled as she looked at her partner, horrified. 

Roaring as he fell to his knees, he clutched his face in his hands. Green ominous light beamed through the gaps in his fingers as they dug at the cracked white mask slowly materializing over his face. 

Her heart lurched at the pain emanating from him as he resisted the Hollowfication. Wasting no time, she threw the red and black spotted soup ladle into the sky and screamed for her Miraculous Cure. 

In a vibrant display of magic, red ladybugs appeared by the millions as they exploded from the small object. They swept over Paris, reversing all the damage that the Akuma had done. 

Ladybug braced herself as the mythical insects embraced her and her partner; healing them from today’s battle. As they dispersed, she ran to Chat Noir. His breath heavy as he knelt. 

The crackling green light had disappeared, but the remnants of the white mask remained. With their combined effort the mask gave away; crumbling into ash.

“Chat Noir!”

He looked up at her with teary eyes and smiled as brightly as he could. 

“You did it, m’lady.” 

Falling to her knees, she pulled him into a tight hug. Burying her face in his neck, not caring that he was startled.

“M’lad-”

“BAD KITTY!” She scolded, letting the tears fall freely. Holding him for another moment as she wet his neck, Ladybug pulled away to glare at him. “You shouldn’t have done that! I-I-I almost lost you!” 

Chat Noir wrapped his arms around her as she rested her face back onto his neck. Her grief stricken eyes caused his chest to tighten as he searched for his words. 

“I thought I could control it this time.” He admitted.

The black-spotted superheroine bit back a snarl. “It’s too dangerous. WE cannot control them.” 

What he had done was reckless, he knew that. The risk normally wouldn’t have outweighed the reward, but they had been left with little choice. In any battle there would be instances where sacrifices had to be made. As much as Ladybug had stated each shared the same amount of responsibility, he knew as the Champion of Destruction that his role was to make those calls. 

Still, the fact of that matter rarely ever shielded his lady from concern.

“I’m sorry, Bug...I just trust you to bring me back...Like you always do.”

Ladybug's back stiffened at his blind confidence. “And what if I can't?” Her voice was low and quivering as she struggled to hold back a snarl. Her fingers tightened their grip as she looked him straight in the eyes; her fear flared. “What if Papillon sends out an Akuma and it finds you?!” 

He said nothing as his ring beeped. She looked down at the talisman and saw he only had 2 paws left. 

Wiping her face, Ladybug stood up just as her earrings gave her their first warning.

“We should go.” She said, not looking at him. As much as she wanted to stay and hold him, Ladybug could not reveal herself. Not right now. Not when she was feeling so vulnerable at the fact that he had almost lost control to his Hollow. 

Chat Noir’s shoulders slackened when she moved away from him. He thought he had taken all the consequences into consideration, but he didn’t consider the fact that Ladybug would have worried that she wouldn’t be able to bring him back. His head dipped in shame for failing to see the toll it took on her. He wanted to reach out to her, but she seemed so far away. 

All he could do was apologize again. “I’m really sorry, Ladybug. I was just doing it for Paris.”

Pulling her yoyo from her hip, she looked back at her downtrodden partner with a solemn expression. “I know.”

\--x--

Detransformed, Marinette laid down on her bed as her kwami floated over her chest with a concerned gaze. Neither of them had said a word since returning home that evening. This wasn’t the first time one of them had almost lost control to the Hollowfication, but usually they were in a controlled environment, not the heat of a battle. Tikki knew she needed to give her holder some time to process the gravity of tonight’s situation. 

However, the red Kwami knew she couldn’t keep putting off this conversation for long.

“Marinette.”

The bluenette covered her eyes with her hands and groaned. “How could he be so stupid, Tikki?” 

“I don’t think he was trying to be stupid,” The red kwami began gently. “I think Chat Noir made a call in the heat of battle.”

Marinette looked at Tikki, astonished. “But he knows we can’t control them right now! How could he have made that call when he knows the risks?” 

“Sometimes the risks are your only options.”

Looking away, Marinette didn’t want to believe that, even if it was true. 

“We would have found another way,” Biting her lower lip, she knew it was a lie. She didn’t want to believe that this was their only option. That Chat Noir’s second Cataclysm was their only option. “I just needed more time!”

“Marinette....” 

Sighing, Marinette rolled over to her side toward the wall. Despite all their training to grow stronger, they were still unable to master using their special abilities more than once. It was only when they tapped into their Hollows that for a short period they were capable. 

Unfortunately, this opened them up to an attack from their souls as the Hollows tried to claim the throne as the dominant personality. Marinette was more hesitant to rely on such destructive power, but it shouldn’t surprise her that the Champion of Destruction felt less wary. 

“I just don’t want to lose.” Marinette whispered. The words hung in the air as she tightened her fists. _I don’t want to lose Paris or Chat._

Tikki looked at her holder sympathetically. The price was steep for a human to wield a Miraculous. Despite the good intentions, the artifact would rot away the Chain of Fate with every use.

She tried not to think of the Ladybugs that had fallen to the Hollowfication. Her numbers were far fewer than Plagg’s, but it didn’t hurt her any less. Her heart ached as memories called to her from the depths of her mind. Tikki fought the heartache as she remembered her losses.

 _No._ She couldn’t let herself give into the grief. It wouldn’t be fair to Marinette to be anything but supportive. This Ladybug was different, she was ready and the Kwami knew she wouldn’t lose her. 

“Maybe,” Tikki tried to phrase this as delicately as possible. “it’s time for you two to face your Hollows.”

Stupefied, Marinette gaped at the suggestion. “It’s not the right time.”

“It rarely is.” 

The words weighed heavy on her chest. The superheroine wanted to retort without it sounding like excuses. Compared to the safety of Paris however, her civilian problems seemed minuscule. 

“I meant, how am I going to find the time? Between helping my parents and friends...and school.” 

Lila Rossi’s image popped up in her mind with her sausage styled side bangs and haughty disposition. Her smug expression made Marinette’s blood boil. 

Clenching her fist, she remembered how frustrating- no, _infuriating_ the last few months had been. It seemed that Marinette was the only that could see through the spell woven by that harlot. Everyone had fallen prey to the exaggerated tales of her greatness, but not her. She knew what kind of tart Lila was, she was a lie spinning dem-.

 _No, don’t, Marinette. You have to stay calm._ Taking a deep breath, she exhaled slowly. _Stay calm._ She repeated this one more time, letting the heat flow out with her breath. Imagining that Lila was just a photograph, the Parisian heroine packed it away in a heavy-duty chest and locked it.

She had no time for Papillon to get a wind of her fury. That sneaky human-sized moth already had the entire city’s anguish at his disposal. 

Tikki’s voice cleared the remnants of her ire. “I know it’s difficult right now, especially with your civilian lives, but I believe in you, Marinette.”

“I’m just so tired, Tikki. It’s not that I don’t want to be Ladybug or get stronger. You know I’ll protect Paris with all my might. But it’s...it just seems impossible sometimes. Like I’m barely holding it together.”

“I know it seems impossible now. But trust me when I say you’re very talented, Marinette. Your spiritual power is just awakening.” Flying closer to her holder, Tikki brushed her cheek as her dark blue eyes illuminated through the dim lighting. ”You will defeat your Hollow.”

She stayed quiet, finding comfort in her Kwami’s tiny hands. 

“I believe in you, Marinette. You mustn't give up.”

“But…” Feeling the tears welling in her eyes, her throat itched as she choked out her greatest fear. “What if I lose?”

“You’re the Champion of Fortune.” Tikki seemed so assured. “You will not lose.”

\--x--

Plagg watched Adrien bemoan the evening’s adventures. His holder had been doing nothing, but laying in bed, wallowing. After a few hours of hearing his chosen chaisiting himself, the black kwami had had enough. All the lamenting had soured his appetite for the moment. “You didn’t do anything wrong, kid.” 

However, he was not the best at consoling. Adrien’s usually brilliant emerald eyes were dark with despair as he wrung the hem of his black t-shirt. He couldn’t shake the look Ladybug gave him when she snapped at him. “But you should have seen her, Plagg!”

“I did see her; I was there.”

“She looked sooo disappointed in me.” Shoving his face into a pillow, Adrien rolled over and curled into a fetal position. “If I just wait, the world will come swallow me up.” 

“Look, kid. Look at me.” Plagg floated closer. “It’s time that you two started dealing with this.”

The blond Parisian hero’s face twisted. “I tried, remember? 5 months ago, 3 weeks ago, and _today_. The only reason I’m not a scary pale monster is because of Ladybug. Plus you heard her, Plagg.” He sounded so defeated. “They are too strong.”

“They _are_ you.” Crossing his tiny arms, his acid green eyes looked unperturbed. “Your Hollow is that strong because _you_ , Adrien, are that strong. And if you ask me,” 

Adrien did not.

“You took a calculated risk and it paid off. You’re ready.”

As much as he wanted to believe in his kwami’s encouragement, there was a gnawing feeling in the back of his mind preventing him from doing so. Sighing, Adrien repeated himself. “Ladybug doesn’t think so.”

“Ladybug doesn’t know you like I do.” Plagg waited to see if his holder would rebuke him, but he was only met with silent agreement. The kwami knew him in and out of the mask. Even though Ladybug was his partner, Plagg was the closest thing he had to a brother. 

A stinky, Camembert loving, rapscallion of a brother.

Who also happened to be very ancient. 

And apparently full of wisdom and warm words. 

“It’s just...I really thought I could this time, Plagg. I thought that I had the right mindset this time to control him, but…” Lips quivering, Adrien covered his face as he let out a choking sound. 

He thought back to the white-haired creature that lived in his nightmares. Icy blue eyes filled with loathing as it stared back at him. 

Plagg looked at him, worried. For a moment, he doubted himself. Was he wrong to urge him right now? His kid had a lot on his plate; emotionally, mentally, physically and socially. While this was a very important obstacle every holder had to face at some point, was it the right time now? 

_There is never a right time._ Plagg reassured himself, thinking back to a conversation he and Tikki had over a millennium ago. They had seen what had happened when a holder had succumbed to the Hollowfication and the responsibility they had in rectifying the situation. 

Their hearts were heavy; it never got any easier with losing a chosen, especially one whose soul had rotted because of them. 

_Adrien is different._ He reminded himself. The kwamis had gotten better over the millennia with knowing when it was time to push their holders to face the decay. 

He shook his head, clearing his mind of the unpleasantness. The black kwami needed to focus on consoling his kid first. There was no point in talking about facing one’s demons if they were currently a prime target for Papillon’s Akumas. 

“Adrien.” Plagg said gently as he patted his holder on the shoulder. “Believe me when I say this that you are one of the best Chat Noir’s I’ve ever known. You are very talented and your instincts are second to none.”

The blond hero’s heart swelled at his sincerity. 

It was rare to hear Plagg being so encouraging. Usually, the Kwami of Destruction would act aloof or ramble about his selfish obsession with smelly, runny cheeses; too self-involved to pay attention to Adrien’s woes seriously anyways. 

_He really believes in me._ Reaching over, he tenderly rubbed Plagg’s cheek as he relaxed. “Thanks, Plagg.”

\--x--

Ladybug and Chat Noir weren’t doing so well.

Papillon had just revived Style Queen at midnight after Audrey Bourgeois was slighted at an after-party by one of her newest discoveries. Fighting her the night after almost losing Chat Noir to his Hollow tested both of their endurances. Neither had slept much since. They only barely scraped by through school that afternoon. 

Chat Noir breathed deeply as his eyes fixated on the black feather at the top of her gold glitter sunhat. His partner had already used her Miraculous Cure to bring Audrey back to sanity just minutes ago. However, Ladybug, in a rare display of imprecision, missed the Akuma that was fluttering away. Papillon must have sensed the weariness from the both of them because the dark butterfly boomeranged back into Audrey’s feather. 

They were exhausted, mentally, and physically pushed to their limits as they once again took on Style Queen for the second time that night. 

Feeling an opportunity nearing, Chat Noir looked at his Lady who was currently the focus of the golden fury. He knew Ladybug would not approve of his plan, but this wasn’t the time to hold back. Chat Noir could not allow fear to triumph over their victory. 

_I’ve only got one shot._ Biting back a pang of guilt, he knew what he was about to do was utterly reckless.

But entirely Chat Noir. 

Inhaling deeply, he closed his eyes and concentrated on harnessing his spiritual energy. Feeling it gather in his right hand, the Parisian superhero touched the underside of his chin. With a forceful grunt, he ripped the ominous green energy over his face.

A white skeletal mask materialized over his standard black eye mask. Cat ears disappeared in a crackle of dark green power as they were replaced by a pair of short white horns that curled forward. As his eyes fluttered open, glowing an infernal shade of icy blue.

Flicking his skeletal tail, the half Hollowfied Chat Noir waited patiently as the surge of unbridled spiritual energy flowed.

Gaze unwavering, he focused on the feather as it swished in the air, trailing behind Style Queen’s menacing figure. 

And then he launched himself at the golden Akuma with demon-like speed. 

Ladybug’s eyes widened as she saw the unfaltering gaze of his Hollow. 

“Chat, no!” 

“Cataclysm!” He called, as his hand collided with the ominous feather. Black energy enveloped the small trinket as it disintegrated into the air. The dark butterfly appeared from the ashes, fluttering as fast it could to get away from the two Champions of good. 

Ladybug did not miss this time as it was snatched up in her yoyo. She didn’t even look at the purified insect being released, her heart dropped at the scene of a struggling Chat Noir. 

She could see the hole forming in his belly.

Oh no.

Not having any time to check on Audrey, she knew the safest thing for everyone was if she could get Chat as far away from anyone as she could. Throwing her yoyo onto a rooftop, she sprinted to Chat Noir just as he let out a horrific roar.

Windows shattered as green light began to sizzle around his neck. Ladybug paid no heed to being burned by his Chain of Fate rotting away or the smell that resulted. She held him tightly till they landed on a rooftop far from Audrey and the rest of the partygoers. 

“Chat Noir!” She cried at her partner as he descended into the darkness. 

He could not hear her.

 _I have no other choice._ Ladybug knew what she had to do. 

Her earrings had already beeped 3 times, signaling the near end of her transformation. She wouldn’t have another chance to save him if she didn’t try now. 

_It would have been too late._

Ladybug grabbed the underside of her chin and braced herself. In one sharp movement, red light trailed behind her hand as a skeletal white mask appeared across half of her face. 

Her body pulsed with elation as the monster inside her screamed for release. 

She couldn’t mess this up.

Throwing her yoyo into the air, Ladybug called for her Miraculous Cure. She prayed for the red ladybugs to unleash their magic to save Chat Noir. 

Instead, what she saw horrified her. 

Thousands of black cicadas emerged from her spinning talisman. Encircling her and Chat Noir, who was too busy with his own demons to notice. Ladybug choked out a gasp as the night sky disappeared from view as the infestation wrapped around them like a windowless cage.

Darkness. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Cero:** A spiritual attack that involves concentrating spiritual energy to be compressed and shot like a laser. Where and how they can be shot from depends on the Hollow.

Adrien cried out as he finally tore the white mask off his face. Tossing it to the side, he gasped for air as his body shook with solace. Thinking that his Hollow had been deterred for another day, he sighed; thankful for the outcome. 

Opening his emerald eyes, his breath hitched. Darkness surrounded him.

Weightless. Cold. Unforgiving. 

“Ladybug?” His voice echoed for stretches. As he was met with silence, his eyes darted around nervously. “Plagg?” 

His kwami did not answer.

Suddenly, light illuminated the darkness from above. Shielding his eyes, Adrien could barely make out the bundle of red that laid 20 meters from him. Adrenaline rushed through him.

“Ladybug?” Running toward the body, Adrien reached out.

BOOOM

The end of a silver baton slammed into the ground in front of him, cratering it. The force knocked him backward, slamming against the colorless floor. He gasped; wind knocked out of him. 

“Tsk tsk tsk.” The familiar voice cooed at him from the darkness as the baton retracted. 

From behind Ladybug’s lifeless body stepped out a pair of white boots. 

Color drained from the young model’s face as he recognized the creature in front of him. 

“Well, well, well,” The albino demon clicked his tongue, looking at Adrien amused. “Look what the _chat_ dragged in.”

\--x--

Marinette’s eyes fluttered open as her whole body ached. The side of her face was planted into the dirt. Spitting out the dust, she pushed herself up as she tried to clear her blurry vision. 

“Chat?” Her head pounded as she sat up. “Tikki?” 

Everything felt fuzzy and unclear. When she didn’t hear anyone answering her, she tried to focus on her surroundings.

She was in the park near her home. At least, she believed it was the same park. Many of the characteristics appeared similar...except for the decomposing trees, the collapsed buildings and destroyed roads. The worst feature about this place was the black sky. An endless void of darkness that encroaches the atmosphere; threatening to take her breath away.

Looking away, Marinette stood up shivering in her pink pajamas.

_Where am I?_ She wandered deeper into the park. 

Silence surrounded her. There were no birds chirping or Parisians strolling down the streets. Not even the wind whispered as the air was eerily still. The only sounds of her footsteps persisted. 

The merry go around whirled to life. Carnival music blared from the speakers as the lights flashed sinisterly. As it slowly spun in place, Marinette’s heart raced. Alarms were going off in her head.

Something- no, _everything_ felt off. This was a trap. She should turn back. Her words were caught in her throat as she stood before the attraction. Unable to move.

A girl sat on one of the dilapidated horses, back facing the Parisian hero. Her waist-length black hair swayed as the ride halted. Humming loudly with the eerie music, she swung her gangly legs as she slid a hand up the plastic horse’s mane; crushing it.

“Marineeeeette,” She sang, her name dripping from the demon’s lips. “Oh, how I’ve longed for you!” 

Frozen with terror, Marinette could only watch as the girl turned to look at her over her shoulder. White irises on black sclera. Her skin appeared to be made of porcelain, polished, and chipped like cracked China. There were two white bone plates that ran along the top of her head like Dutch braids. 

Smiling widely, a dark purple tongue snaked from between her teeth, licking its lilac lips.

\--x--

“What did you do to her?!” 

The colorless Adrien looked at the blond, unamused before peering at the body behind him. 

“Nothing.” He sniffed. “She’s not really here, you know. Well, not that you _would_ know.”

“What do you mean?” 

Pinching his nose, the white Hollow smirked as he delighted in Adrien’s confusion. Looking down at the limp Ladybug, he gestured a hand lazily and flicked it toward the darkness. 

Her body vanished.

“What was that?!” Adrien demanded.

“Like I said. It’s not like she’s really even here. Ladybug is busy with her own Hollow.” Seeing the shocked expression cross his king’s face, the white Chat purred with satisfaction. “Oh, didn’t you know? This is all your fault.”

“No, it’s not.”

“Oh, why yes it is.” Inspecting his bone-white claws, the Hollow continued. “You decided to pull your mask on to use that second Cataclysm. You thought you could control _me_ to save Paris.”

Seeing the truth to the situation, the confidence from Adrien’s face drained.

“I couldn’t.”

“You haven’t even met me.” The Hollow admonished. “Rude!”

Adrien barely registered the name as the Hollow introduced himself formally as Chat Blanc. The guilt felt almost overwhelming as he grappled with the situation. Seeing his Hollow was frightening, but hearing how _he_ got there was sobering. The superhero closed his eyes tightly and clenched his fists. He wanted to tell himself that this was a bad dream. That digging his nails into his palms would definitely wake him up. A sharp pain seared across his skin as it gave from the tension. _I’m probably bleeding._

The blond opened his eyes and saw that nothing had changed. They were still in the void and his Hollow was still talking. Feeling disheartened, his shoulders slumped while his head fell forward. Was he losing? He wasn’t sure. 

“...then Ladybug tried to cast another Lucky Charm.” 

Adrien’s ears perked up hearing his Lady’s name. “Another one?”

“Are you even listening to me?” Chat Blanc frowned “I said after _you_ decided to take on the lion, you lost control.” A sad, but mischievous smile danced across his lips. “So _she_ pulled her mask on and tried to cast another Lucky Charm.” Pinching his nose again, he smiled patronizingly. “Silly Bug, did she think she was ready to take on her Hollow?”

Adrien's brows furrowed at the way Chat Blanc talked about _his_ Lady and glared at him. Despite being busy reprimanding himself, Adrien would never miss an opportunity to defend his partner. “Ladybug is strong! She would never lose.”

“Well, _m’lady_ is a scary force to be reckoned with. Too bad you won’t get to meet her.” Grabbing his chin, the white Hollow pulled as a skeletal mask appeared over his eyes, curved horns sprouted where cat ears should have been. His skeletal cat tail whipped behind him like a snake as he raised his baton over his head. 

And then he swung.

BOOM

Adrien dodged as the edge of the weapon slammed into the ground. A wave of spiritual energy released like a bomb, creating another crater. His heart raced as Chat Blanc retracted the magical tool and spun it over his head. 

“Why don’t you be a good boy and stay still?”

“Go to hell!” Adrien raised his hand above his head as he did every time before. “Plagg, claws out!”

SILENCE

The young blond stood there, waiting expectantly for the magic to envelope him as it did every time. When nothing happened, Adrien pulled his gaze away from the enemy and looked at his silver ring nervously. “Plagg?”

“The kwami can’t help you in here.” Chat Blanc raised his right hand and pulled his finger back with his thumb. A brilliant dark ball of energy started to form, aimed right at Adrien.

“Cero.”

\--x--

BOOM

Marinette heaved as she dived into an alleyway to regroup.

“Marineeeeette. Come out and play with me!” The Hollow screamed as she launched another Cero from her mouth. Purple energy crackled from her mouth as a wave of spiritual energy slammed into a 2 story building. Debris filled the air in a plume of smoke as the structure came crumbling down. Laughing, she continued walking down the street, adorned in red armor. The black sky thundering as her ominous backdrop.

_What am I going to do?!_ Trying to keep her breathing quiet, Marinette frantically tried to figure out the best way to combat the Hollow. She had tried summoning Tikki, but nothing happened. 

She was going to have to fight her Hollow on her own. She was nothing without her powers! Without them, she was just a normal klutz that couldn’t even walk into class without having a 50% chance of face planting into the ground! 

Suddenly, her body started to move as her ears perked up to the rumblings behind her. Not even a second later, the wall she was leaning against exploded. From the shadows came the Hollow, bobbing her head from side to side. Her wavy dark hair swept behind her like a cape.

Her eyes darted down the alley, just barely catching Marinette’s heel disappearing around the corner. 

Smiling devilishly, she continued at a leisurely pace.

Marinette huffed as she sprinted as quickly as she could down the buildings. Trapped in her own mind, she couldn’t see anything to defend herself with. Nothing to fight that level of spiritual energy.

She was outmatched. 

_How am I going to save Paris and Chat if I can’t save myself?_

Without warning, a black yoyo stretched out past her before it hooked around Marinette’s body like a lasso. Tripping, she slammed onto the ground. Her Hollow sauntered over from behind, pleased. 

“Paris, Paris, Paris.” She spat out. “You think too loudly about a city that doesn’t even deserve you.” Tugging her yoyo backward, Marinette was dragged across the floor. Her cheek scraping against the rough blacktop. 

Drawing on what little remained of her confidence, the Parisian superheroine glared at the demon. “I’m a superhero. Or have you forgotten?”

“How can I?” She said mockingly, her dark purple tongue hissing between her teeth. Hoisting her up, she examined Marinette’s face.

And then she punched her in the face.

Crying out in pain, the bluenette tasted blood pooling in her mouth. Her baby bell blue eyes darkened as she forced herself to look directly into the Hollow’s eerie gaze. Opening her lips slightly to alleviate her sensitive gums, blood dripped from the corners of her bruised lips. Anger flooded her veins.

The Hollow looked joyous. “I like this side of you.” 

Tossing Marinette over her shoulder like an empty burlap bag, the Hollow jumped up with inhuman agility onto the rooftop of a nearby building. Quickly, she ran across the city toward the most famous Parisian monument. 

\--x--

  
Dodging again, Adrien couldn’t keep count of how many close calls he had had with the replica’s baton. As he stumbled backward, Chat Blanc stamped his weapon into the ground and swung his body sideways, whipping his tail.

The blond winced as the sharp tip slashed him across the face. Wiping the blood off his cheek, he smeared it on his clothes as his mind raced. 

_If I get hit, I’m seriously going to die._ He thought frantically to himself. _Think, Adrien, think._

Readying his weapon, Chat Blanc charged at him again. 

The young Parisian hero started running through the darkness, somehow able to see the pathway in front of him even if it was just a few meters. 

“Adrien! Are you just going to keep running away from your problems?” The Hollow admonished him from behind. Chat Blanc jumped forward into the air with the baton swung overhead. 

_I need a weapon!_ Raising his bloody hand over him, the blond focused as the cold steel descended.

CLANG

The Hollow’s icy eyes widen as a rapier magically formed in Adrien’s hand. 

Triumphant, he snarled as he pushed the baton away from him. 

Stumbling backward, the Hollow gazed darkly at his prey. “Ooh, kitty got claws.”

Taking an offensive position, Adrien prepared himself for the attack. 

“En garde!”

\--x--

“Oomph.”

The wind was knocked out of her as the Hollow dropped Marinette onto her chest after they arrived at the second stage of the Eiffel Tower. 

Inhaling deeply, the Hollow let out a shrill laugh. As if on cue, the wind started howling through the wrought iron monument with dramatic affect. 

It seemed luck was not on her side at the moment. Coughing as she caught her breath, Marinette noticed two small wooden boxes shaking violently at the edge of the stage. With a wave of the Hollow’s hand, the two boxes exploded, leaving behind two bound adversaries.

Papillon and Lila Rossi, two of the most despicable people she knew, looked at her with pleading eyes. Thick plates of metal were nailed onto their bleeding mouths. Heavy chains wrapped around their bodies, forcing them into submission.

“What are they doing here?”

Crouching down to her level, the Hollow roughly lifted Marinette’s chin up, digging her thumbnail into her skin. Her soulless eyes gleamed with a dark delight. 

“I am so glad you asked.” She cooed. “It’s about time someone taught you a lesson.”

“In what? Kidnapping?”

The Hollow chuckled. “And I thought Chat Noir was the funny one.” Shaking her head. “No, what you need a lesson on how to rage; properly.” Dropping her chin, the Hollow strolled over to Papillon first. He cowered as she dragged him a few feet away from Lila. 

“Isn’t it magnificent?” 

“What?”

Glowering, the Hollow brushed her talons across Papillon’s silver mask. “His fear.”

He shut his eyes, trying to look away from her cracked face. 

A cold feeling overcame Marinette as she realized what the Hollow was getting to. She started to struggle against her binds fervently. “Leave him alone!”

“Ohh? And why should I?”

“He has nothing to do with this!”

The Hollow snarled at her insolence. “Don’t act so cavalier with me, Marinette. He has everything to do with this. Every late night. Every physical injury. All the Akumas were _his_ doing! So don’t act like you _actually_ care.”

Jerking his head back to look at her, Papillon’s violet eyes peaked open. His body stiffened as he was caught in the Hollow’s petrifying gaze. She smiled toothily as dark purple energy manifested in front of her fangs. The air sizzled as the spiritual energy molded into a ball; pulsating. 

Marinette screamed. “NOOOO!”

“Cero.” 

Papillon had barely any time to react as the energy shot through his skull, burning a large hole through the middle of his face. Eyes, nose, and mouth eviscerated. Blood poured all over his body as he went limp in the Hollow’s grasp. 

The Parisian superheroine’s eyes widened in shock as she watched one of her mortal enemies die. She screamed silently as the tears fell down her face. The smell of burning flesh flooded her senses.

The Hollow smirked at her handiwork and stood up. Flinging the body over the stage, she watched it plummet before gazing at the black sky. 

“I am Princess Justice!” She proclaimed with all her might. “The true master that will subjugate this pitiful world!”

The Hollow must have sensed Marinette’s distress because the binds disappeared. Covering her face with her hands, the bluenette wept. 

Princess Justice turned back to look at the Parisian superheroine with disgust. With every step, she declared her intentions.

“Every day, you do nothing to improve this decrepit world. Where good is supposed to prevail, but evil is never fully cleansed. A never ending cycle to perpetuate an outdated tradition.” Towering over the quivering bluenette, Princess Justice whispered in a low growl.

“You, with the power of Creation. The most powerful out of all the Miraculous. What do you gain? Can’t think of anything? That’s right. It’s _nothing_. Nothing, but this rotting chain.”

Marinette didn’t respond as her sobbing slowed. Feeling incredibly numb, she slowly met the Hollow’s icy glare. 

Princess Justice, disgusted with disappointment, leaned down. Her breath smelled of death as it brushed against the heroine’s face.

“I want the satisfaction of my enemies knowing my name. I want to feel their blood as it drips from my talons. The fear of the people who depend on my power. I will destroy this depraved world.” Pulling Marinette up to her feet, the Hollow held her shoulders tightly, claws digging in as she whispered into her ear. Her sharp purple tongue grazed Marinette’s neck. 

“You are either with me or against me.”

The Parisian superheroine looked emptily at Lila who wriggled around in her binds. 

Chuckling, Princess Justice pulled out her black yoyo. It crackled as she spun it in the air, black cicadas charged out in a hot buzz. Swarming into one another, they merged into a dark sphere, bubbling as the weapon fell into her hands.

Swinging the oversized, black cutlass sword, the Hollow grinned as she took a step closer to Lila.


	3. Chapter 3

THUD

Adrien’s back seared in pain as he slammed into the ground. Tightening his grip around the handle of his rapier, he tried to make sense of where the enemy was through his blurry vision. Blood dripped from a cut above his right eyebrow. He barely made out the small shadow hovering over him like a vulture; waiting. 

“And here I thought you were going to actually put up a fight.”

 _I have to get up._ He thought to himself. As much as he tried to move, his body lay in the crater. Bruises littered his arms as blood seeped from a fresh wound in his abdomen. All he could taste was the iron of his own blood trickling from his gums. 

His heart sank as he heard the familiar whistling coming towards him. Like a missile, it flew straight into the crater. Eyes closed, Adrien braced himself for impact.

SHATTER

The ground quaked next to him as shards hit him in the face. Slowly opening his emerald eyes, he turned his head to see his rapier shattered into slivers of red glass. The baton had stamped it into oblivion. 

Chat Blanc descended from the sky while retracting his magical staff. Seeing him struggle, the white Hollow walked over his defeated rival. Looking at him unimpressed, he said. “Get up.” 

“You know I’m feline kind of comfortable down here. Why don’t you give me a minute since it seems like you have a lot you want to say.” Adrien joked through the pain as the adrenaline pumped through his body. 

“More than a lot actually.” Chat Blanc admitted as he shrunk the staff back into a baton. He saw the surprise cross the young cat’s face. 

Adrien wanted to ask since his Hollow felt so chatty right now, but stayed silent. He was sure he wouldn’t be kept waiting long and took the opportunity to recover what little strength he could. 

"I hate everything about you." The Hollow stated simply.

_Well that shouldn’t surprise me._

"I hate how you carelessly throw your body in harm's way. I hate how you think everything is okay as long as you are walked over, like a motel doormat. That you think your self-worth corresponds to how useful you are. But most of all, I hate how you hide away your pain like a coward."

Adrien felt disappointment wash over him in waves with every word Chat Blanc said. He seemed resigned when he spoke to him. Nothing about his words dripped with ill-intent. Just a vast amount of regret. “Well, I’m sorry you think this way,” he croaked. 

“Aren’t you tired of it all?” His tone was surprisingly soft and...concerned?

“Of what?”

“This.” Waving his hand to their surroundings. “This façade of autonomy. Are you actually okay with playing the role of the useless fool? The pretty boy in the birdcage who sings whenever someone asks him to?”

Finding the strength to get up, he pushed himself off the ground with a struggling heave. He caught his breath, feeling the weight of Chat Blanc’s words. It was perturbing how accurately the Hollow was able to recount his situation. “I wouldn’t call being a superhero of Paris useless.” 

“You’re _useless_ .” Chat Blanc stated, his eyes somber. Watching the young blond straining to stand. “Useless gets in the way; it gets others killed. It gets _you_ killed.”

“I will do whatever it takes to protect the ones I care about.”

“What you want to protect is not what _I_ want to protect.” Chat Blanc scoffed, his skeletal tail swishing behind him lazily in discontent. 

_That’s surprising._ “And what do you want to protect?”

"Look around you, Adrien. Why do you think we fight in this darkness? Your heart is clouded just like the rest of your soul; it reeks of despair. A void that can never be filled by the validations of others. This punishment will continue to exist as long as you stand here as king. I will free this body from that humiliation," He announced as he pointed at Adrien with contempt. "and I will show you true freedom!"

Launching at him, Chat Blanc readied his weapon. Adrien was unable to get away as he took on the full force of the blow. He imagined he'd feel his ribs cracking; like saltines crushed into a bowl of tomato soup. Instead, he was filled with overwhelming sadness on impact. His throat swelled as every nerve screamed from the desolation that filled him.

Crashing back into the crater, now larger than before, he lied there unmoving. 

Adrien was absolutely certain that this would have been the finishing blow that eradicated his control. 

But this was not that sort of attack. There was no doubt that his body ached from the fighting, but the pain that accompanied every blow never lingered for long. In lieu of that, dark emotions welled up inside him, threatening to drown him in its desolation. 

Thinking back to all those previous attacks, something didn’t seem right. Obviously, their powers were imbalanced since he didn’t have Plagg to beef him up. But if Chat Blanc really wanted to win, he would have done it already. Instead, he had played with Adrien, talked _to_ him rather than at him. There was something else the Hollow wanted; the biggest clue was that he destroyed his rapier rather than stamping on his throat.

Silence filled the space between them. _There was something lonely about him._ He realized. Instead of facing the hot rage, he thought all demons possessed, what he felt instead of a perpetual sadness that seemed almost inescapable every time he was struck with the baton. 

But how could he fight him now? How could he fight knowing that his Hollow didn’t have the killing intent? His icy blue eyes looked so disappointed when Adrien couldn’t get up, as if resigning himself. _There must be a way to fight back._

 _How did I even get that rapier?_ Frantically he searched his mind for clues. He knew in that moment that he needed a weapon, something that was familiar to him that would give him some sort of offense since he couldn’t transform.

 _I created it. Instead of waiting for Plagg, I forced it to appear_. Realizing the answer all along, Adrien’s pulse quickened. 

Seeing as the young blond was unable to move, Chat Blanc slipped his baton onto his white belt. Discontent masked his face as he turned to stare at the never-ending darkness that surrounded them.

 _Onward._ He thought solemnly to himself. Taking the first step, he began to march when he heard the rubble behind him move. His icy blue eyes widened as a surge of spiritual energy exploded behind him.

“Leaving the party so soon?” Adrien said as he climbed out of the hole. The black belt tail swished around him as he found the way to his strength. 

Looking over his shoulder, the white counterpart smiled wistfully as if he was convinced to stay. 

“It’s not my fault you arrived so fashionably late.”

“You know us models,” Grabbing the baton from his black belt, he clicked on one of the buttons to expand it to a staff. With a Cheshire grin, he slipped into a low fighting stance. “Never one to commit a faux paw.”

Chat Blanc smirked as he redrew his baton.

\--x--

Marinette looked helplessly as her Hollow slowly made her way toward the sausage haired teenager. 

_What do I do?_ She had never seen anyone die so violently before. 

Usually when the Akumas attacked, they usually ensnared their victims in either gold glitter or a photo. The effects always seemed so temporary, death never permanent. What Princess Justice did was beyond anything she’d ever witnessed during her tenure as a superheroine. 

It took everything in her to not retch from the smell of burning flesh that lingered in the area. Despite having the lowest opinion of Papillon, no one deserved to die the way they did. Not like that. Even Lila, the source of most of her anguish didn’t deserve what was about to befall her. 

Digging her nails into her palms, the bluenette tried to shake herself away as the Hollow stopped in front of the sausage haired girl. Blood dripped down her palms as skin broke under the pressure. 

_I have to do something._ She couldn’t just sit there lying down. Paris still needed her and evidently so did Lila. 

Princess Justice was a monster and if she were to win, no one would be able to stop her. She imagined all the faces of the people who depended on Ladybug, who looked up to her as the source of their strength to go on every day despite the calamities that time and time again befell the city of romance. 

Feeling her hands burn, Marinette steeled her resolve and picked herself up.

Princess Justice soaked in the final moments. _How long have I waited for this moment?_ The air was the perfect temperature; freezing. The cold seeped into her bones like an ice pick striking the center. 

Today was her coronation as she ascended from this pitiful prison. Soon she would unleash the full force of Creation and reimagine everything into a utopia, free of the constant cycles of good and evil. There would only be one law; to praise and adore her as the queen who reigned over their insignificant beings that will submit to her. 

“Your head would be a great trophy.” She hissed as she raised the sword, eyes focused on Lila’s slender neck. 

Struck with fear, Lila stopped struggling as the dark blade swung down.

CLANG

Her inverted eyes widened as her sword reverberated off the red shield that adorned Marinette’s right arm. 

_I made it!_ The buginette wanted to sigh in relief, but the fight was just about to begin. Sweat beaded her forehead as her heart thumped vigorously in her ears. She looked straight into her angry counterpart’s eyes, defiant, and shoved the Hollow back with all her might.

“You! What do you think you’re doing?”

“I’ve made my choice.” She retorted, positioned herself to cover Lila who had fainted. “I am against you!”

Raising her cutlass once more, Princess Justice hissed as she swung it down toward Marinette. 

Red sparks erupted from the clashing metal. Roaring, Marinette pushed the sword away. The Hollow stumbled backwards as the heroine lunged forward, trying to smack her with the blunt of her spotted shield. 

“I won’t let you hurt anyone anymore!” 

“There you go again, acting all heroic. So arrogant!” Snarling, the Hollow deflected another blow. Each of them pushing back with all their strength. “Do you think you are so different from me?!” Strength exploded from Princess Justice, sending Marinette tumbling backwards onto her back. 

“I am nothing like you!”

Smoke flared from the Hollow’s nose as the cracks that ran up her cheeks began to widen. “Look who’s lying to herself!” Princess Justice jeered, her voice slowly warping into something inhuman. Running towards her, she jumped into the air and brought her sword down like a hammer.

“Eeeek!” Rolling away, Marinette barely missed the blade as it pummeled into the wrought iron floor. It wrinkled under the pressure, bucking the Parisian superheroine into the air. Sliding across the stage, her body smacked the office situated in the center of the Eiffel Tower. 

Pointing her sword at Marinette, the demon glowered. Her white pupils illuminated with hate as she stared daggers at the fallen. “You are wrong. I am you. I am the hatred born from the rot that festers in your heart. I am the Atlas that shoulders all your burdens.” Darkness began swirling at the tip of her blade as she held it steady. “You will never get rid of me.” 

Marinette jumped out of the way just as the Hollow destroyed the office with a Cero. Fragments of the building cut across her back as the explosion propelled her off to the side. Her eyes widened in shock as she fell over the side of the Tower.

Screaming, she quickly looked around and saw a row of flag poles beneath her. Outstretching her hands, she managed to catch herself and use the force of the fall. Her muscles tensed as they overworked themselves to fight the force of the fall from pulling her off the pole. Her fingers burned as she tried to pull herself back up. 

Marinette’s eyes watered as she made it back onto the Eiffel Tower. Body quivering from the near-death experience. Blood dripped from her pale pink lips as she tried to calm down.

 _You will never get rid of me._ The Hollow’s callous words rung through her mind. She knew she wouldn’t be able to get rid of the Hollow, Tikki herself had confirmed that this was the side of her she needed to face and reconcile with.

 _But how?! How do I reconcile with_ **_that_ ** _?_ The task seemed near impossible, especially with how much disdain the monster had for Marinette. 

_I am the hatred born from the rot that festers in your heart._

_I am the Atlas that shoulders all your burdens._ Closing her eyes tightly, she tried to fight the tears that threatened to spill. 

Her heart wrenched as she realized that there was no escaping this cold reality. Was it even possible to overcome all the misery that had bloomed inside her like a corpse flower? The stretch was oppressive, how had she not noticed it before?

Princess Justice was Marinette, the side she never wanted anyone to see. All the pain she held in from every fight, every angry thought she couldn’t express for fear of being Akumatized. The disappointment in her friends who didn’t see the lies that Lila spilled. 

She was in despair. The mountain stood daunting. 

_You mustn't give up._ Tikki’s words echoed through the fog like a small beacon. _You are the Champion of Fortune._ Her voice rang like a clear bell, purifying the darkness that crept into her mind. The red kwami had always believed in her despite only meeting her a few years ago. Her faith in her never wavered and neither did Chat’s. 

_Chaton._ She had nearly forgotten about him in all this mess. Her heart pounded as she thought about her partner, battling his own demons in order to protect her and the city they loved. He would have never forgotten about her in this fight. He always looked ahead, the sword to her shield. The strength behind her genius. 

_We're the cat-and-bug team, remember?_ His words resonated through her as she remembered all the times he sacrificed himself for them. She had always been mad because he had been reckless, but he was only reckless because he trusted in her that much. To him, the call was rarely wrong because they were always right. 

Feeling her fortitude returning to her, she looked up at the second stage as her body began to glow scarlet. Spiritual energy pulsated from her skin dulling all her pain.

 _You will not lose._ The kwami of creation chimed.

Marinette’s eyes flared with determination. 

“I will not lose.”


	4. Chapter 4

OOF

Chat Blanc heaved as he was flung backwards. He hadn’t been able to maneuver around Adrien’s strike to his abdomen with the end of his baton. 

The young black cat twirled his baton above his head before catching it as he readied himself for a charge. Moving forward, he cried out as he swung the baton, aiming for Chat Blanc’s right shoulder. 

Suddenly, the Hollow disappeared and reappeared a foot away from Adrien, kneeing him in his stomach. 

Falling, he slid across the floor as his baton skidded away from him. His emerald eyes furrowed as Chat Blanc looked at him cooly, sweat beading down his face. 

_What you want to protect is not what I want to protect._ The words had rung constantly as their batons clashed at superhuman speed. It was a strange thing to hear from someone that had the power to level the city in an instant. 

_What did he want to protect?_ He rolled away from another assault. Diving for his baton, he managed to grab it as Chat Blanc landed a kick on the side of his rib cage, launching him meters away.

Coughing up a bit of blood, Adrien ground his teeth as he staggered to his feet. Physically, both of them were evenly matched even though the black cat just had his ass handed to him in the last few moves. 

_He could have definitely killed me; even now he has the upper hand. I can only use Cataclysm once, but he can use Cero indefinitely._

CLANG CLANG CLANG

Their weapons met in a fury, sparks flying from the clashes. Adrien managed to force Chat Blanc back as he stumbled into a large crater he had created.

As the Hollow struggled to get up, his voice never left Adrien’s mind. 

_Your heart is clouded just like the rest of your soul, it reeks of despair._

Blinking, he didn’t realize he spaced off as Chat Blanc jumped towards him and hooked his foot to the side of Adrien’s face. 

_And I will free this body of that humiliation._

His eyes widened at the realization of who this Hollow meant to him as he skidded across the cold ground. It all added up, the sadness that lingered behind every painful thwack, the lonely eyes that coldly stared at him. However, he portrayed his motivation for freedom as the disappointment for where he, Adrien, stood. The world around them was bleak and cold; was the Hollow always sitting here? Alone?

The pool of darkness that surrounded them lurked sinisterly. This wasn’t the world Chat Blanc chose to reside in, but the loneliness that he chose not to acknowledge. 

_But how do I defeat that? Isn’t that what therapy is for?_ He thought glumly as he rushed forward. Throwing left and right hooks, undercut, uppercut, sidestep, knee to the stomach, Adrien was a storm to be reckoned. Unfortunately, his Hollow blocked almost every move, dodging just a second faster than Adrien could swing. 

Chat Blanc ducked under another right hook and used his elbow to connect with the underside of the black cat’s chin. 

Another bloom of desolation exploded where they made contact. He backed away, checking how slack his jaw had become. Spitting out blood, he searched for any sign, any indication that his opponent had a weakness. 

Rubbing the white bell on his collar as he contemplated his next move, the Hollow pursed his lips as he slid one foot behind him. Raising his hand, he positioned his index finger to his thumb as he prepared another round of Cero.

_That’s it!_

“I’d love to stay and chat, but it’s getting paw-fully late.” Adrien smirked as he readied himself for his final attack.

Raising his brow, Chat Blanc cooly said. “Two puns in one sentence? Someone is overly confident.” 

“Is it such a catastrophe if I am?” His heart was pounding his chest as he zeroed in on the albino demon. If he didn’t time this correctly, he would soon be the workhorse of the new king. 

He thought about telling Ladybug in detail what he did to defeat his Hollow and decided against it. She would scold him for the reckless task he was about to perform.

No matter how Chat Noir it was. 

“I will end this now.” Chat Blanc’s eyelids lowered as he began to flick small beams of Cero at him. 

Adrien rushed towards the attack, dodging the onslaught as he made his way closer to the demon.

He just had to get close, close enough to-

SSSHHLUCK

Choking, his emerald eyes widened as Chat Blanc’s white talons pierced through Adrien’s body, clawing through his chest. Blood spilled onto the grey ground below as he struggled against the torrent of despair rushing toward him.

His body cramped as the perpetual sadness flooded his body.

“Did you really think you could beat me with brute strength?” The Hollow asked solemnly, disappointed that the black cat had learned nothing. His eyes perked up to hear a strange chuckle emanating from the Parisian hero.

Chat Blanc had been so focused on his king’s apparent failure that he did not notice his king’s left hand raising up to scrape his white bell.

“Cataclysm.” He whispered triumphantly as the bell disintegrated into ash. 

Icy blue eyes widened as his powers vanished. 

\--x--

Princess Justice didn’t see the Parisian superheroine anywhere, nobody sprayed on the ground, no signs of a small crater from impact. Nothing.

The eerie disappearance irked her. She knew it couldn’t have been that easy to kill the queen, though she had hoped to have left some permanent scarring on her. Plus, it wouldn’t be fun to torture Lila if she didn’t have an audience. 

Her ears perked up, hearing a whooshing sound just before something hard slammed into her, sending her flying into one of the tangles of wrought-iron beams. Her skull crunched as it made impact. Pulling her body off of the dent, she turned with searing eyes.

“Mar-in-ette.” She spat each syllable as if it was coated with poison. “So glad you’re alright.”

“You can’t get rid of me that easily.” She chimed clearly, her blue eyes shined with determination behind the Ladybug mask. Her scarlet aura illuminated off her like a beacon of hope on the dark stage. 

Slipping into a defensive stance, Marinette steadied her breath and prepared herself.

The Hollow screamed as it propelled itself forward, flying at Marinette with murderous intent. 

CLANG

The cutlass’s sharp teeth dulled against the fortified strength of the red shield. 

CLANG CLANG CLANG

Princess Justice wildly swung her sword at Marinette in an attempt to overpower with pure strength. 

“Do you think you can actually win?!” She screamed.

“I know I will.” With a definite shatter, both the cutlass and the shield exploded, throwing their wielders backwards as spiritual energy collided violently. Marinette’s back slammed into one of the wrought-iron beams as the Hollow’s body was shot into the rubble of the former office. 

“You are not better than _me!_ ” Shrieking, the cracks on the Hollows face began to ooze. Black viscous liquid dripped onto the rubble. It hissed as it eroded everything it touched. From a distance, it looked like the Hollow was crying black tears as it pulled itself from the wreckage. 

“I am.” 

“You think you are above this frustration? This hatred that drips from these very cheeks?!” Snarling, black energy crackled in front of her bruised lilac lips. “You will be subject to everything you despise!”

Marinette’s eyes widened as the energy slowly grew in size, pulling energy from the air as it pulsed sinisterly. Grabbing her yoyo, she tossed it into the air, summoning her Lucky Charm. Thousands of ladybugs exploded as it whirled around the yoyo, melding into one another to form her trump card. 

A large ornamental mirror dropped into her hands, gleaming against the dark energy. Her brows knit together as she tried to look everywhere for a clue, an answer on how to defeat the dark princess. The Cero loomed over her like Goliath as the Hollow birthed the monster from the depths of her soul. 

_There has to be something._ She thought frantically. Nothing spoke out to her. There was no way she could dodge an onslaught this size. She would be eviscerated, plain, and simple. Her heart pounded erratically as she looked into the mirror. As her baby bell blue eyes gazed upon her reflection, Tikki’s words rang clearly.

_You will not lose._

The mantra, which had empowered her earlier, stilled the calamity that pulsed through her veins. The answer had been so obvious, it was a wonder that she didn’t realize it before. The fear that had blinded her melted away as she steeled her resolve.

Seeing the pieces starting to chip away from the Hollow’s humanoid mask, she knew this would be the final attack for both of them.

Standing her ground, she held up the mirror as it reflected the nuclear bomb of spiritual energy. Unwavering, she braced herself as the air around them swelled. Her skin tingled with electricity as the Hollow’s presence ignited the sky around them. 

Thunder and lightning painted the dark skies as the manifestation of Marinette’s darkness bellowed out. 

“I AM PRINCESS JUSTICE!!” Heaving the gigantic attack at Marinette, the Hollow screamed. 

Unwavering, she held up the Lucky Charm. The energy ball slammed against her, pushing her a few feet backwards. Roaring, the superheroine pushed herself forward as the mirror turned black. The air around the object distorted and screeched as the spiritual energy was dragged into the abyss. Princess Justice’s eyes widened as the small trinket gobbled up her monstrous attack. Choking, she took a step back as the red superheroine, Champion of Fortune, stared her down.

“And I. Am. Marinette.” The mirror hissed as golden light burst forward. 

Princess Justice could only blink as the beam was redirected to her at full force. Blinding light enveloped the entire area, flooding the skies as far as anyone could have seen. If the Hollow screamed, no one could hear her. 

\--x--

Chat Blanc fell onto his knees as he detransformed back to his pale civilian form. He hung his neck, baring his neck as a sign of submission. 

Adrien bit back a choke as the talons that extended into his body vanished. Touching his chest, the fatal wound disappeared, leaving no trace of it behind. Sighing in relief, Adrien realized that he had won. 

Chat Blanc’s tail swished back and forth. Looking down at his Hollow, Adrien waited for him to say anything.

“Congratulations, Adrien.” His voice was flat as _he_ waited for the king to punish him for his mutiny. He expected chains to wrap around him, dragging him back into the darkness that bore him. Chat Blanc didn’t want to return, but he had lost fair and square. There was nothing for him now but to accept his loss with grace. 

“I realized in the fight that you could have killed me easily. It was obvious that you were the stronger one, so why wait when you’ve been waiting to come out for so long?”

Chat Blanc said nothing.

“It should have hurt, I mean- it _did_ hurt every time you landed an attack. But there was something else too. That’s what you were trying to tell me right? When you said you wanted to protect something?”

“It’s meaningless now.”

“No, it’s not.” Adrien asserted. 

“There isn’t really any point to further this discussion.” Chat Blanc snapped. 

The blond was not deterred. “I didn’t realize I was having this conversation with my _father_.” 

Chat Blanc looked away. _Is he embarrassed?_

“This,” gesturing at the void. “Is what you’re trying to change isn’t it? Because this desolation and despair that you’re talking about is our soul, isn’t it?”

“...Perhaps.” 

Adrien’s eyes softened. “A world with no light. A windowless cage. That’s what you’re trying to tell me, isn’t it? What you want to protect isn’t this place or Paris. You want to protect me?”

Chuckling, the white Hollow faced the victor with a cold gaze. “It seems so obvious now that you’ve won. Do I seem less menacing to you, Adrien? Now that you know my weakness?”

He could tell that the Hollow was deflecting, trying to save face from the burning embarrassment that crossed his face. Chat Blanc wasn’t very Hollow-like. At least not like the ones that he has fought before. He felt guilty judging him as harshly as he did, for using him like an expendable tool for all the emotions he was too scared to face. ”That doesn’t matter anymore.”

“Oh?” The white Hollow looked surprised as the feline superhero extended a hand. He wasn’t sure what to make of it. 

“I will free us from this darkness.” He reaffirmed and stuck out his hand. Flashing Chat Blanc a Cheshire grin, Adrien declared, “And I will show you true freedom.”

His icy blue eyes studied Adrien who kept his hand sticking out. With a small smile curling at the corner of his lips, he amused. “Someone is playing quite the knight. I don’t know what Ladybug does with you.”

Adrien grinned brightly. “I’m her own personal knight-mare.”

Chuckling at the terrible joke, Chat Blanc stood up with Adrien’s help. “You know, if you fail, I will come after you.”

“I don’t doubt you will.” 

Chat Blanc bowed. “Then I will leave this task up to you, my king.”

And suddenly, everything went black.

\--x--

  
  


Marinette puffed, sweat beading down her face as she fought to drop to the ground. Reflecting that beam seemed almost impossible. She was taken back when the mirror _swallowed_ all that power. It felt like her soul was stretching at the seams till she released it back at full force to the Hollow. 

_I...I did it?_ She searched in the dust cloud for any signs of life. The smell of melted metals and concrete filled the air. It was a welcome change of pace from the burning flesh earlier. 

The red Parisian heroine walked forward, armed with her Lucky Charm. She was no longer worried about the transformation dropping, not while she was deep in her soul. This was her domain and she would not let it be dominated by anyone with ill intentions anymore. 

The rubble shifted as a hand stretched out. Pulling herself out, the Hollow wheezed and coughed out the torched dust. Her fiery white eyes glared at Marinette who stopped in front of her. 

"You think you've won, but you’ll never win. You'll never be free if you stay as you are. A milquetoast sack of shit.” She spat. 

“Your freedom is tyranny and I will not stand for that!” Marinette unleashed a wave of energy, forcing the Hollow to back down into the rubble.

Gritting her fangs, Princess Justice forced her head up. "I am you and as long as you exist, so shall I." It snarled. "You will never get rid of this anguish." 

Holding up the mirror, it began to glow softly with the same golden light that unleashed the purified Cero. “Then I will prove you wrong.” 

The Hollow screamed as she was dragged into the mirror. Clinging onto anything that she could, her efforts fruitless as she was trapped beyond the looking glass. Turning the mirror to face her, Marinette looked at the Hollow as the last of her mask fell off, revealing a viscous form. 

Finally having a chance to breathe, the heroine dropped to her knees and placed the mirror facing down. 

She wished she only felt relief, but she couldn’t stop the nagging feeling that she was disappointed in herself. Her Hollow was a true monster, malicious, cold, and positively _insane_. Worse of all, she wondered if it was her fault for not allowing herself to feel the negative emotions that she compartmentalized. 

_I am the Atlas that shoulders this burden._

Feeling her heart heave at the weight the Princess carried. She didn’t ask to be the bearer of this darkness. Hollow or not, she also deserved to be saved.

“I will free both of us from that burden.” She grimaced. With the last of her strength, she tossed the lucky charm into the air. 

“MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!”

\--x--

The insect dome buzzed as red light burst through. Eviscerating all the black cicadas with its piercing light, millions of ladybugs erupted and swirled in the sky. Weaving through the air, the magic spread all over Paris, repairing all the damage that the Style Queen had caused. 

As the brilliant red magic faded from view, the two superheroes were left transformed on the rooftop where Ladybug had taken Chat Noir hours earlier. The moonlight showered them with its soft glow as it started to descend. Laying there unmoving, their kwamis watched over them as they slept.

“I’m really relieved that this is over.” The Kwami of Creation sighed in relief. 

“I always knew they could do it.” Plagg scoffed. “Ow!”

Tikki glared at him as he rubbed his tiny tender arm. “No one is watching you, Stinky Sock. You don’t need to be all macho about it.” 

Pouting, he turned away to look at the sleeping blond. “Ok...I was a little worried…I just don’t want to admit that we could have lost, ok?”

Her dark blue eyes softened as she floated closer to the Kwami of Destruction. “Of course. That’s why it’s okay to be worried.” Patting him on the back, she looked at Marinette, pride swelling inside her. 

While she couldn’t interfere, it didn’t mean she was blind. That Princess Justice was one of the worst Hollows any of her Ladybugs had ever borne. At one point, she wondered if it was her fault for not guiding her holder better. 

Shaking her head, Tikki scolded herself. _I will just have to do better._ Both of them would. She wasn’t sure if Marinette could reverse the poison that coursed through her Hollow’s veins, but if anyone could do it, it would be her Ladybug. 

“Do you think they’ll freak out when they wake up?” Plagg asked, curious. He knew how much his kitten loved his lady. Normally, he imagined the blond would be over the moon to find out the love of his life was also a close friend. But seeing as how rough their last fight was, maybe right now wasn’t the best time for an identity reveal. 

“Probably. But it’s not like we could move them.” She winced as she felt the hunger sting her body. She had performed two Lucky Charms back to back while also temporarily being taken advantage of by Princess Justice. The Kwami of Creation was definitely not feeling strong enough to even think about transforming Marinette back into Ladybug without anything to eat. 

“We should probably go find some food.”

Tikki glared at him. “You mean _steal?”_

Unabashed, Plagg shrugged his shoulders. “I’m doing it for them, Sugarcube.” He couldn’t help but sound patronizing. “As much as I love a bit of chaos, I don’t think either of them is emotionally ready to deal with a third catastrophe in one night. At least if we can eat, we can force the transformation and hide their identities a bit longer.”

He had a point. Even if it broke her moral code. 

“Fine. Let’s get something to eat. Quickly.” Wrinkling her dainty nose, Tikki smirked as she flew very close into Plagg’s personal space. “I know you care about those two a lot, even if you act like you don’t.”

Blushing, the black kwami said nothing and looked away. 

She giggled and grabbed his tiny paws. “Let’s hurry before someone finds them.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it! I left the ending a little open-ended in case I wanted to continue the story. Princess Justice just had such great dialogue that it's hard to stay away. 
> 
> If any of you Bleach fans caught it, I named this after the Shiro Sagisu song "On the Precipice of Defeat" and after 10 years this song STILL gives me the chills. Cuz you know shit was gonna go **down** when that song came on. I spent 4 days listening to the Bleach OST while writing the first draft. I was hyped all week. I know I drew a lot of parallels between Ichigo and Adrien, but I really enjoyed the idea of 'protection' and 'loneliness' for Adrien, so fuck it. 
> 
> Leave a comment and tell me what you think~ I'd love to hear your opinions. 
> 
> If you wanna join us on the [Miraculous Fanworks Discord](https://discord.gg/mlfanworks) then please swing on by. This is such a wonderful community for creatives and readers alike.


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